This application claims the priority of German application 100 54 008.2, filed Nov. 1, 2000, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
This application is also generally related to U.S. application Ser. No. 09/985,180 titled xe2x80x9cMOTOR VEHICLE SEATxe2x80x9d, filed on the same day as the present application.
The present invention relates to an automobile seat for a convertible motor vehicle including a seat cushion, a seat back, and an appropriate headrest for the back of the seat. Such a seat has at least one air outflow opening of an air supply system arranged in an upper area of the back in order to reduce undesirable drafts.
An automobile seat for a convertible motor vehicle of this type is known from German publication DE 196 54 370 C1 and has a seat section and a back of the seat with an appropriate headrest. Air nozzles of an air supply system are arranged in the upper area of the back of the seat in order to reduce undesirable drafts by providing airflow around the head, shoulder and neck areas of a seat occupant.
One object of the invention is to create an automobile seat of the kind described above which has an air supply system that can be used universally.
One manner in which this object is achieved is by providing at least one additional air outflow opening of the air supply system in a seat surface facing a seat occupant for seat ventilation purposes, seat heating purposes, or both seat ventilation and seat heating purposes.
The air supply system of an automobile seat pursuant to the invention serves to not only reduce undesirable drafts but, beyond that, to provide seat ventilation and/or seat warming. In the surf ace of the back of the seat and/or of the seat cushion facing a seat occupant, at least one additional air outflow opening of the air supply system is provided. Accordingly, both a separate seat heater, such as a separate heating pad arranged beneath the seat cover, and a separate seat ventilation system, such as fans arranged beneath the seat cover, can be foregone.
Instead, according to the invention, an air distribution system is provided for all functions, either separately or jointly, with only one air supply system. By combining several functions assumed by the air supply system, both the design and the assembly complexity of the automobile seat can be simplified. Additionally, the effort required to control the described functions, combined here into the air supply system, can be reduced significantly.
The air supply systemxe2x80x94with the exception of the air outflow openingsxe2x80x94can be integrated in the seat, possibly together with the fan and the heating element, so that it is invisible to the occupant. When integrating the fan and the heating element within the seat, warm air can be made available particularly quickly at the various air feed openings.
At the same time, it is also feasible to supply the air supply system, possibly without a separate fan and/or heating element, with air from the heating or air conditioning system of the vehicle.
Further advantages, features and details of the invention will be clear from the following description of preferred embodiments as well as the drawings.